Thoughts on the original Hammond A and "percussion"

[Blues Disciple]

I came across some Hammond A models on ebay today. Not the 60's models A100's and the like, but the old Hammond A; Precursor to the B models. It is in a smaller cabinet but same shaped cabinet as the B, but without percussion either. Reasonably priced between $600 and $1,000.

 

My question(s): Is the Hammond A a worthwhile purchase when it comes to the true tonewheel sound, or is it different. And if its different from the B, C, M, L's and A100's, how so? Can it run with a Leslie or is it only good with the old Hammond tone cabinets?

 

Finally, how important do you guys think the percussion component is to owning a Hammond? Is it necessary for playing rock and blues music? Is a Hammond B2/BC/BV and the other non-percussion incarnations reputable purchases? Is one of these models with a Leslie comparable in sound to the B3, C3, M3, etc? in a band setting?

 

I have always wanted the percussion sound-Hammond, but as prices continue to rise (faster than my ability to make and save money toward buying one) I am wondering about going the non-percussion way.

 

Any thoughts on the old Hammond A and the need for "percussion"?

 

BD

[Synthguy]

Well, percussion is all over Hammond playing. If I recall, it's used more often than not, and it's such a big part of that Hammond sound. I guess the only way to know for sure is to get hold of a Hammond or clone and play around with it. Try one of those sounds that uses percussion prominently, and then kill the percussion. I have a feeling the sound looses about all of it's pizazz. It's just... what makes a Hammond a Hammond. Well, I don't know, maybe I'm blathering as usual in a way too late post. Check it out, because the only one that can really answer that issue is you.

[Dave Pierce]

It depends on your style. For a real heavy, distortion-rich sound perhaps you could get away with not having it. I personally would not consider a Hammond without percussion. I only turn it off on my vintage CX-3 maybe 20% of the time.

 

--Dave

[B3Nut]

Depends on what your style is.

 

Also, percussion can be retrofitted to earlier consoles which did not originally have it, the Trek II TP-2B is a nice solid-state percussion unit that mounts in the left cheekblock and has sliders for 2nd, 3rd, *and* 5th harmonics as well as a decay slider.

 

Good sounding unit, and most major technicians have 'em for around $200. Bill Brown www.bborgan.com and Al Goff www.goffprof.com stock them regularly.

 

One caveat re: original Model A's: the manual wiring is different in these than any other console. The upper harmonic foldback drops back two octaves instead of one; upper harmonics are louder than in later consoles, and the 16' bass register doesn't fold back but goes all the way down, pure sinewaves down to 32Hz. Huge bottom end.

 

Many players love old Model A Hammonds. I don't know of any of the A-heads on the hamtech list that paid as much as $600 though...kinda steep...

 

TP

[b_3guy]

I also believe there's no vibrato/chorus.

[Tedly Nightshade]

Haven't used an A....

the best player I know, a real original voice, never ever touches the percussion. Others just go to town with it. It can certainly be wonderful.

I bet you'll want it if you don't have it... the grass is greener, or seems that way...

[Slowly]

They have percussion kits you can buy, but on my Hammond, never even turned it on to see if it works. Kcbass

P.S. Why do I have the feeling I`m gonna eat those words?

[Stephen Fortner]

Trek II makes the most popular percussion mods to put on older B's and C's that don't have percussion. I have no idea whether they can be made to work on an "A" Given that it "steals" the 1" drawbar, the differences that B3Nut spoke of may well be relevant.

 

I'm faascinated with the A, though I've never laid hands on one. I read about it in Mark Vail's book. I think you'd miss the scanner vibrato / chorus more than the percussion. A good-sounding C3 chorus on the right Hammond is what puts the sound over the top in terms of fatness, for me at least.

[B3Nut]

FWIW, percussion on a B-3 steals the 1' drawbar (actually the 1' manual busbar, leaving nothing connected to the 1' drawbar when perc is on) for keying as well. The Trek perc is always on, so in a stock install you lose the 1' drawbar in the drawbar group you connect it to.

 

If one wishes to be creative, this can be remedied by means of a switch and some extra wiring so you can have all 9 bars available in that group if you don't want the percussion on.

 

You also can choose a different drawbar to disable rather than the 1' if you so desire. A stock -3 can be modded thusly as well.

 

TP

[Blues Disciple]

Hey KC Bass,

 

I guessing that you know about Praise and Worship music. I am thinking of buying a Hammond for my role as second keys/organist in our Praise Band, "Led Zephaniah" (Free Plug!). We do a bunch of songs and arrangements from the Hillsong CD's out of Australia.

 

For P & W music, do you think the percussion is essential--or could that fat Hammond/Leslie sound sans percussion work well?

 

Also---related to my poll question: How difficult would it be moving a Hammond around if your primary venues are churches? Don't most have ramps and other easy access routes into the church and fellowship halls? (I know the several places we have played do). Wouldn't it be more of a matter of getting the beast on wheels and rolling it in?

 

And fellas---yet one more question? Can you turn the Trek II percussion off and not use it at any time, or is it a have to use it kinda thing?

 

Thanks for the comments guys--I'm real close to a decision!

 

BD

[B3Nut]

And fellas---yet one more question? Can you turn the Trek II percussion off and not use it at any time, or is it a have to use it kinda thing?

Yup, you just pull the sliders all the way down. A stock TrekII perc install permanently steals a drawbar from whatever group you connect it to (normally the B drawbar group as that is the one Hammond enabled percussion on in the -3 series). A custom switch can be added to switch the Trek out of the loop and re-enable whichever drawbar you picked for percussion keying (usually the 1', but you can choose a different one).

 

TP

[Dave Pierce]

Originally posted by Blues Disciple:

Hey KC Bass,

 

I guessing that you know about Praise and Worship music. I am thinking of buying a Hammond for my role as second keys/organist in our Praise Band, "Led Zephaniah" (Free Plug!). We do a bunch of songs and arrangements from the Hillsong CD's out of Australia.

 

For P & W music, do you think the percussion is essential--or could that fat Hammond/Leslie sound sans percussion work well?

 

Also---related to my poll question: How difficult would it be moving a Hammond around if your primary venues are churches? Don't most have ramps and other easy access routes into the church and fellowship halls? (I know the several places we have played do). Wouldn't it be more of a matter of getting the beast on wheels and rolling it in?

 

And fellas---yet one more question? Can you turn the Trek II percussion off and not use it at any time, or is it a have to use it kinda thing?

 

Thanks for the comments guys--I'm real close to a decision!

 

BD

I'm no expert on this topic, but I've played a bit of gospel over the years. Percussion is not that important for gospel music, the drawbars and Leslie are the keys to the sound. Percussion is a nice add-on, but it's a lot more important for blues or jazz.

 

And yes, a church is a much easier venue to haul heavy equipment in and out of. Not only because they tend to have ramps and such, but also you're a lot more likely to find a couple of sober young bucks with strong backs willing to lend a hand. In bars the people most willing to help are the ones you want farthest away from your gear.

 

--Dave

[Slowly]

I`ve only really been into Gospel about 8 years, and so far I haven`t heard any percussion in the gospel music. Kcbass

[Tedly Nightshade]

Unless you are really funky bluesy downhome type of worship music, you should be fine without percussion.